Appearance: Pours with some viscosity. A dense, creamy brown head forms. Retention and lace properties are quite good. Body is thick and black.

Aroma: Chalky dry cocoa, sweet bourbon, vanilla and char.

Flavor: Wow is this smooth. The bourbon properties and the stout properties blend to near perfection. There is really a uniqueness to this beer, even as a Bourbon Bbl beer, that is hard to pinpoint. I'm guessing it has to do with the kind of bourbon and/or barrel aging process used. Smooth kentucky bourbon notes blend with some nice chocolatey and burnt malt tones from the stout. A little of that dry char character is noted as well.

MF: Velvety. Medium to medium-full body. Alcohol is barely detected. This one flows way too effortlessly across the tongue.

DK: This is the closest challenger to the unbelievable barrel aged stouts that Town Hall puts out occasionally. This is damn close. Just not quite there with the Czar Jack and the even more impressive barrel aged oatmeal stout they put out a few years ago. But this one really has great character and flavor and drinkability. I now understand the high accolades this beer receives. (1,152 characters)

The taste on first sip gives me loads of chocolate and bourbon followed immediately by coffee and some dark fruit and a nice hot cocoa bitterness. Yum!

More sips in, and that's quite easy to do as this has great drinkablity, I find more of the same but this is anything but boring. I really can't believe how darn tasty yet smooth drinking it is. As for the abv, there's just some slight warming after the swallow and the mouthfeel? Thick and chewy and absolutely superb. One of the best I've had to date.

I'm *trying* to stretch this bottle out for as long as I can but my glass keeps beckoning me to take another sip and I just don't have the will power to say no. ;^) What a drinking experience I'm having here...Founder's really set a high standard for the style when they brewed this puppy.

Btw, the foam retention is *very* good and there's lots of lacing hugging the side of my glass. Another point to mention is the aftertaste. It lingers on for a like forever and I couldn't be happier. Again, Yum!

Bottom line: A world class brew that is worth seeking out again and again. In fact, it's going right back on my Wants list as I write this review.... (1,428 characters)

Broke this out for the ol' 4th of July weekend celebration right before the awesome UFC 116 fights.

And while I'm seguing, this heavyweight beer is like a hybrid of the best two heavyweight fighters: massive and daunting strength and size of Brock Lesnar, with the technique, skill, consistency and acclaim of Fedor Emelianenko. A big giant thick black pour. Good bourbon smell, notes of vanilla and cherry as well.

But damn, if the chocolate wasn't clearly the most established taste. I remarked, if Younger's has a Double Chocolate Stout, this is a Quadruple Chocolate Stout. Just immense. So smooth, there's 11+% alcohol here? The chocolate smothers it. But it doesn't smother the vanilla, oak and cherry flavors. They are embraced throughout and so smooth.

At around $5 for a 12oz. stout of this caliber, its a pretty good deal. I think I like it more than Abyss, but then again, Abyss was so easy to get out here, whereas this, I have to go back to my Milwaukee homies to hook this up. We'll see how future tastings (got 2 more to go) work out. As far as my first, excellent, and could easily be the world champion stout. Of course, I still have some Speedway, Hunahpu among others aging right now, so who knows, but I can say with conviction, this is the best barrel aged stout I've ever had. (1,303 characters)

A jet black right out of the bottle and a thumbs width of mocha head falls pretty quick but leaves some lace where it lasted

S smokey bourbon with a little bakers chocolate, coffee, vanilla and some booze

T much like the nose but even better, the bourbon is strong but not overwhelming and works for it, the chocolate tastes more like coco powder in the mouth but again it works well. I'm loving the woody earthiness and the smokey finish just wonderful stuff

M silky but a little thin and considering how dark this one is I'm a little surprised, not flat but could use some more carbonation but the flavors just stick too your gums I'll be tasting this for ages

D pretty good for a giant bold high booze stout, the taste alone is reason for another, there's a little heat from the liquor but I bet it would mellow out with some time

I can see why this beer is so highly ranked it tastes great, truly one of the better tasting beers I've had yet. A big thank you to MasterSki for sending this one my way (1,052 characters)

From the 2014 batch. Sampled on April 2, 2014 and served around 50 degrees.

The pour is deep dark brown to about black. with a quick lasting dark brown head. Opaque. Attractive and inviting to look at.

The aroma has a dark malt and dark fruit character that is expected for a stout. The promised coffee and chocolate notes seem more muted. But I do pick up some alcohol.

Thin to medium body. I might have liked it to be heavier.

The taste also has the same sort of dark fruit, dark malt character with a modest bitter finish. Everything merges together well but I am not sure if this lives up to the hype. Of course this was the first year I had it. (653 characters)

This beer pours a pitch black color, dark as night with a brown one-finger head into my fancy Piraat glass.

The aroma is rich and creamy with a strong whiff of bourbon from the barrels, chocolate and vanilla in the nose. A bit of roasted coffee peeks out as well.

The taste is nice and creamy upfront with a strong bourbon presence that increases as it warms up. A good hint of both chocolate and coffee are still there but the bourbon and alcohol seem to dominate.

The mouthfeel is full of warm bourbon and lingering bitter coffee and chocolate. Again, the bourbon dominates the palate.

This is a very good example of the style. However, I should have aged it for a while. Still quite drinkable while young and it doesn't take away from the potential that this beer has. The aroma is intact but the taste needs some age. (856 characters)

Appearance- Pours a liquid coal, spent motor oil black. NO light can be seen through this eveil colored brew. But even after a hard pour with no glass tilting, hardly any head was yielded. A mild ring-o-foam was amintained throughout the brew.

Smell- Lots of coffee with some milky, creamy notes, smoked and roasted malts, as well as my old friend JACK.

Taste- Starts out with what taste like spent coffee grounds, but develops into something much more creamy and even slightly bitter. The coffee, vanilla, and bourbon barrel aging are very evident. Imgaine having a cup of straight black coffee thats been sitting on the hot plate for an hour with a spalsh of vanillas bean and a shot of JACK.

Mouthfeel- Pretty smooth and some very surprisingly noticeable carbonation. This helped to anhance the blackk coffee bitterness that I like in both my coffee and my beer.

This is a beer that deserves all the hype that it gets. This beer is awesome and I will definetly buy this beer again regerdless of the price. And I recommend all BA's who haven't had this beer get their hands on some of it. (1,106 characters)

Served in a snifter, the KBS pours dark brown/black with a very small brown head which went away pretty fast. Lacing is good. It smells like coffee, oak, bourbon, vanilla and dark/bitter chocolate. The taste is pretty much the same as the aroma, but there's also some roasted malt, licorice and molasses too. Mouthfeel is medium/full, and it's creamy, smooth and oily. The low carbonation makes the drinkability of this beer excellent. The alcohol is well hidden, I can't notice it at all so it's easy for me to start taking bigger gulps of the beer instead of little sips. I think this is an excellent beer, it's one of if not the best beer I've ever had. It definitely lives up to the hype, if you ever get the chance to try KBS, you should! (743 characters)

I've been sitting on this bottle for about 2 months, since buying the last stock from Holiday market in Detroit. The first notable thing is the low carbonation, evidenced by almost no pffft sound when I opened the bottle. Also there was no head, just a thin ring of tan bubbles where the beer meets the glass.

But the smell and taste are the most important dimensions, and both were really good. It smelled STRONG, like whiskey and roasted malt. The flavor was heavily malted and had decent currents of chocolate and whiskey. No coffee that I could smell or taste. Or maybe on reflection just a hint of coffee.

The mouthfeel was thick and chewy, really nice. Overall I'm glad I tried it, but it's too big to drink too often so it's no problem that it's brewed like once a year. (783 characters)

Pours black with a one-finger brown head. The head dissipates into a wispy layer on top leaving decent lacing.

Smells of robust roasted malts, coffee, and bourbon with hints of vanilla. The coffee is more intense than it was fresh and the bourbon is more restrained.

Tastes similar to how it smells. Roasted malt and dark chocolate flavors kick things off. Smooth coffee flavors join in shortly thereafter. Midway through the sip vanilla and bourbon flavors make an appearance, the former more intense than the aroma intimates. Mildly sweet oat flavors kick in right before a solidly bitter ending.

Mouthfeel is great. It's got a very smooth thickness with grainy carbonation.

Drinkability is very good. I finished my glass quickly and could easily have another.

Overall I thought this was still a phenomenal beer after a few years on it but I was a bigger fan when it was fresh. The bourbon flavors are much bigger although it is boozier when fresh. In any even, it's worth a shot fresh or aged. (1,050 characters)

Bottle courtesy of mcgwire756. 2011 release which I believe is sometime in the Spring.

Pours a viscous-looking black body with a small, short-lived dark tan head that leaves some minimal spotty lacing. Agitation is unsuccessful to force any significant head.

Aromas of strong baker's chocolate, both dark and milk versions. As it warms you get some coffee and slight vanilla and nutty notes from the bourbon, but not a drop of alcohol or "hotness" what-so-ever.

The taste follows the nose with luxurious dark and milk chocolate flavors; some vanilla notes as it warms. The coffee flavors are quite prevalent throughout and really overwhelm the chocolate flavors that I enjoyed on the nose. Bourbon barrel flavors emerge more and more as it warms, vanilla, slight sour mash bourbon alcohol flavor. Definitely opens up as it warms.

Mouthfeel is crazy high/strong, however you are supposed to describe this category. Coffee bitterness lingers for days and coats the palate, bourbon flavors linger and add to the intense flavor profile.

Overall, what can I say, this is a great beer. The flavor profile is obviously great and second to few. The problem is how hard it is to get this beer now-a-days. Beer geeks are stalking this like it is the best beer on the planet, which I do not think it is, so unfortunately I will only be able to sample this via trade or trade extras going forward. I sample CBS a few nights ago for the first time and I can say I enjoyed it more because the sweetness helped to balance the coffee bitterness that I found to be slightly (slightly) too much for my tastes here. Is this great, yes, recommended, yes, a necessity to check off your list as a beer geek, yes, is it my favorite, not by a long shot, but to each his own. (1,756 characters)

Appearance - Dark brown colour with a small size frothy light brown head. I can't make out the amount of carbonation showing and there is some fair lacing. The head lasted for around 2-3 minutes before it was gone.

Smell - Malts, chocolate, coffee, bourbon

Taste & Mouth - There is a below average amount of carbonation and I can taste malts, chocolate, and vanilla. There is also some coffee, wood, and some bourbon. There is also a bit of a nuttiness.

Overall - One of the best Imperial Stouts I have ever had. The chocolate flavours are very rich and you can tell they used high quality ingredients. It's bold yet well balanced and the alcohol is incredibly well hidden. (736 characters)

The beer gurgles from the 12-ounce brown bottle a soot black, the head is thick and creamy, the color a deep chocolate, the size perfect, as it slowly erodes the laces forms a thick concealing blanket to surround the glass. Nose is steeped with toasted grain, hints of chocolate and a touch of Bourbon barrel sourness, quite mouth watering. Start is somewhat sweet with a rich grain profile, the top rich and full in feel. Finish has a nice acidity, the hops plentiful and the deep roasted grain flavor sits long on the palate, a sure fire winner in my book. (558 characters)

M - Wow the bourbon packs a less than mild punch than expected! Still very noticeable yet the bitterness of the chocolate and coffee malt take some of the heat off.

D - What to think... Really an amazing brew that I guarantee at least an A in this reviewers opinion. Strong flavor and high ABV with expected high price tag. May have it again if I hit up the brewery. (887 characters)

The beer is very black with hardly any brown in the light. The head is very disappointing as there is none and after finally pouring a medium tan head fizzles for seconds and is gone. There is no lacing.

The aroma is very strong but dominated by mostly roasted coffee. There is not much complexity as you get a little alcohol but that's it.

The taste is like the aroma but stronger. Its all coffee but bad stale and bitter coffee. Its simple without any complex flavors. At the end there is a little bourbon and charred wood.

The feel is ok but the drinkability is really down.

I was very excited to finally get my hands on this, but after I did I came away very disappointed. Its not drinkably, not complex, and just not a great RIS. (798 characters)

Managed to land a 4 pack of 2011 KBS. I couldnt hold off any longer, I had to crack one of these bad boys and have it fresh. I have drank almost half of this tulip before even writing the review. So, so goddamn good.

A - Pours an incredible oil slick black with a one finger creamy mocha head that fades incredibly slowly for something with this much ABV. Not much in the way of lacing, but I expect that. There is a nice mocha halo when this does fade into the swirling cloud.

S - Coffee, bourbon, more coffee, and more bourbon. Some light burnt malts there as well but coffee and bourbon dominate the nose.

T - Wow, this is amazing. So much rich coffee flavours and strong, delicious bourbon notes. Some light vanilla and big alcohol flavours. With some age, letting the ABV mellow out, this stuff would be even more crazy.

M - Oh so thick and creamy and smooth. This is what stouts are supposed to feel like. So thick and delicious.

O - Yep, this stuff lives up to the hype. Just stellar aged stout. I look forward to aging my other 3 bottles! (1,051 characters)

This one obviously comes with a tremendous amount of hype and once again Riley's comes through

appearance: generic bourbon bottle label, pours thick and syrupy into a snifter, has that motor oil characteristic to it...rich and dark chocolately brown, bordering on night black. only a small chocolate head that dissipates rather quickly

taste: jesus, what a stout! It's thick, it's rich, it's explosive, it's bourbon aged. This is a full flavour stout, no doubt about it. Heavy roastiness felt immediately, rich dark roast beans, defined woodyness definitely felt...bourbon flavours are delicate (not overpowering like some) and very complimentary to the other flavours. the end result is a sweet, alcohol infused kick. sweet and smooth dark chocolate...delicious!

Smooth flavor with roasted malts and chocolate right up front. The dark malts continue with molasses and coffee. Velvet smooth bourbon, vanilla, and light smoke. Some light hops fade into the finish with pleasant boozy warmth and rich sweetness.

Full body, lower carbonation, ultra smooth on the tongue. Probably one of the best drinking bal aged stouts ever. This is exceptional fresh and with age, either way. (666 characters)

Founders makes some impressive looking stouts and this is no exception. Jet black with a dense, thick, dark brown head with great retention and lacing, this is one gorgeous beer. The nose is similar to my experience with this beer out of a bottle, but a little different. There's copious amounts of coffee and chocolate, with plenty of roasted malt, but there's also a more pronounced bourbon character, with a pleasant, welcome booziness and some vanilla. Caramel character is low. The palate is quite the whopper. Big coffee and chocolate up front with plenty of roasted malt bitterness. The coffee is big, with plenty of espresso character, and coupled with the medium-full body, it just feels like one. Bourbon is quite prominent as well, with heat and vanilla present. Bitter chocolate and coffee are present on the finish, along with a boozy heat. Pretty solid stuff, I drank about 20oz of it and could have gone for another glass. (984 characters)

8 oz tap pour into an American tumbler pint and shared with Sweemzander at Founder's Black Party 2010.

A - Totally black, no light gets through this one, with a cascading dollop of tan, dense whipped-cream-like head. Fantastic retention to the small pile and dense lace left on the glass.

S - The typical huge bourbon nose of KBS is smoothed out a lot from the nitro. A big backing of large black roasted malts with a vanilla flavor and light roasted coffee. So smooth in the nose!

T - The majorly bourbon barrel flavor hasn't really changed or smoothed from the nitro like the aroma did. The flavor is almost identical to the bottled version of KBS. Vanilla, coffee, molasses notes, and lots and lots of bourbon.

M - Smooth as silk with a soft texture and milky finish but the bourbon alcohol booziness sensation in the stomach remains the same. Roasted bitterness to the finish and fuuull bodied.

D - Like a normal KBS the bourbon is rather large but still fairly drinkable due to the nitro introduction. I'm really happy that I'm sharing this one. 6 oz poured into a snifter would plenty to nurse though a cool evening. (1,128 characters)

I have been hunting this for years - and finally got to try it at the Holy Mother of Gatherings! It pours a deep, opaque sable with a thick, fine-bubbled tan head. Rich aroma has notes of molasses, caramel and semi-sweet chocolate. Flavor is DEEE-LISHUS! Smoky with tones of quality coffee, molasses, chocolate and caramel, and a hint of - is that bourbon? Thick, smooth texture is quite fizzy. (394 characters)